


Hourglass

by futuresteven (orphan_account)



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Oneshot, Time Travel, hourglass - Freeform, post fragments, young steven time travels to see his future self
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:40:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23377042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/futuresteven
Summary: It hadn’t been the best day, but when Steven’s past  self time travels to see him everything changes.
Relationships: Steven Universe & Steven Universe, no ships - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 117





	Hourglass

The beach in front of the temple was beautiful no matter what. Even at night, when the stars reflected their light onto the dazzling blue water and all that could be heard were the waves crashing against the gritty sand. Steven came here often, no matter what time of the day it was. It always seemed to be peaceful here, especially because he was home alone most of the time.

Keeping your cool after accidentally shattering a gem that was just trying to help you was easier said than done. The fact that Jasper referred to him as ‘her diamond’ right after he brought her back to life said it all. He wasn’t acting like his mom, right? There was no way.

Just as he began to get deeper into thought, a bright flash of light next to him startled Steven. He began to glow pink as the light faded, revealing the person who had interrupted his only time where he could talk to himself. However, as it turns out, this was wrong.

A younger version of himself stared up at him with wide eyes. Steven hadn’t seen that red shirt in years, nor had he seen the hourglass the kid was clutching in years. 

“ Wow!” The younger him said with a wide grin, stepping forward, “You must be me in the future! Wow, I get so tall!” Steven could only freeze as the kid circled around him.

“Uh, hey,” Steven awkwardly replied. He knew what was happening, the kid likely just found the small hourglass and warped to go see how he looked in the future, “And youuuu... must be past me, but I’m just going to call you Stephen,” A small smile etched its way onto his features.

The kid smiled back at him, practically bouncing up and down at this point, “Why are you glowing pink? Hey, you kinda look like a glow stick! No, wait,” He paused for a moment before an even wider smile came across his features, “That’s mom’s powers, right? Is that why you look so cool?”

Steven froze at these words. Oh, right, Stephen must believe that Rose Quartz was the greatest person in the world right now. He internally groaned and forced a small, nervous grin at the other, “Sure is. You get a lot of powers in the future, many of which are cool and others… not so much.”

“What  _ kind _ of powers do we get?” Stephen’s excitement only made the older version of himself get more nervous, “Can you show me? I wanna see! I bet they’re a lot like Mom’s, right? We’re probably  _ exactly _ like her!”

The pink glow around Steven got brighter and be restrained himself from going into his “Chad Form.” However, he couldn’t hold in his anger his anger for long.

“ **_NO!_ ** Not at  _ all _ !” He fumed, stomping his foot on the ground and shuddering when he saw just how many cracks formed, “We are  _ nothing  _ like  **_her_ ** and we  _ never  _ will be. That’s for the better!”

Stephen didn’t reply, instead covering his mouth as tears rolled down his cheeks. The other was infuriated, taking deep breaths and trying to calm down. The younger stared at him with wide, tear-filled eyes.

The reality seemed to hit Steven and the glow faded. At that point, he knew he couldn’t lie anymore. He took a step in front of Stephen and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, a small frown on his features. 

“Look… the future isn’t at all what you think it would be. Yes, you become a Crystal Gem, but that’s not a good thing because…” His voice trailed off when the kid frowned now as well, “...because mom was a liar. She’s actually Pink Diamond, and Rose was her disguise.”

The younger gasped, “Mom is Pink Diamond?” Steven nodded, getting startled when the kid hugged him. He hugged him back, running a hand through the kid’s curls.

“When you get back, convince Pearl to put her phone in her gem. After that, when you end up in Homeworld, don’t fuse as Stevonnie when Connie asks to dance with you, because that’s a huge mistake,” He mumbled, “After that, try to prove to White Diamond that you’re not Pink. If she tries to pick you up, jump out of her hand. While you’re there, don’t forget to go to Pink’s old garden. Spinel is waiting for you.”

“Thank you?” Stephen was puzzled, “How  _ is  _ the future though? How are we in the future?” Curiosity killed the cat, and Stephen was the cat here.

Steven reluctantly replied, “You refuse to let anyone help you. You end up getting really sad and feel… empty, I guess. Like something is missing, something that you’ll likely never find again. You end up being alone and accidentally hurt everyone because no matter how hard you try you’ll just never be good enough.”

Stephen tensed in Steven’s arms, “Hey, don’t say that! You  _ are  _ good enough, and I know this because I’m you!” At these words, it was Steven’s turn to cry.

“Just do everything I said and you’ll probably be much better than me,” The older consoled, flashing a reassuring smile at Stephen when he noticed the hourglass beginning to run out.

“Bye, thank you future me!” The boy waved and Steven watched as he faded away, likely to go back to his world. The older stared where the younger once was before sighing.

He sat down once again and listened to the waves, smiling to himself as they lulled in him into a deep sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this!


End file.
